June 28, 2007

Contact: Walter Johnson, Vice President, Heritage YMCA Group 630.420.8242

PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies has awarded the Heritage YMCA 5 grants totaling $12,500 in support of health and wellness programs related to YMCA Activate America®, a long-term initiative designed to strengthen and promote the YMCA's abilities to help more Americans live healthier lives.

Specifically, grant money will be used to deliver programs that will help people achieve healthier and active lifestyles. These programs will be offered at the Aurora, Field House and Kroehler Family YMCAs, the Y Safe 'n Sound program and the Naperville Family Resource Center. Each branch, program office, and community outreach program received a $2,500 grant.

"Through our long-term alliance, PepsiCo and the YMCA share a common goal to find better ways to help Americans lead healthier, more active lifestyles," said Stephanie Rath, senior marketing manager, PepsiCo Health and Wellness Team. "Working together, we have tremendous potential to encourage individuals and families to become more physically active and make better nutritional choices across the country."

YMCA Activate America is an ambitious public health initiative that leverages the YMCA's national network of YMCAs and commitment to healthy living to address our nations' health crisis related to poor nutrition and lack of physical activity among millions of Americans, especially children and youth. YMCA Activate America is making healthy living a reality by:

• helping YMCAs better support individuals who continuously try but are unable to sustain a commitment to healthy living;

• helping YMCAs reduce community barriers and increase community supports for healthy living; and

• helping YMCAs collaborate across public, private and not-for-profit sectors to make an impact on the nation's health crisis.

In partnership with the YMCA, PepsiCo is committed to playing a responsible and constructive role in health and wellness. The company recognizes its responsibility to encourage people to adopt healthier, active lifestyles - beginning with its products. In 2004, PepsiCo launched the Smart Spot symbol - the green symbol of Smart Choices Made Easy that is designed to make it easier for consumers to identify PepsiCo products that contribute to healthier lifestyle.

Products that feature the Smart Spot symbol meet established nutrition criteria based on authoritative statements from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Academy of Sciences or provide other functional benefits. The Smart Spot symbol appears on nearly 300 PepsiCo products including Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice, Aquafina water, Gatorade Thirst Quencher, Baked! Lay's, Quaker Oatmeal and Diet Pepsi, among others.

"We are very grateful for PepsiCo's support of our health and wellness initiatives," said Dee Dee McDevitt, director of marketing, communications and customer satisfaction. "They know, as we do, that to reverse the obesity epidemic, Americans must change the dangerous course of physical inactivity and poor nutrition that threatens the long term-health of our country."

About YMCA Activate America®: YMCA Activate America builds upon the YMCA's 155-year track record of pioneering efforts that respond to timely societal needs - in this case, America's health crisis. Launched in 2004, YMCA Activate America is an ambitious public health initiative that is making healthy living a reality for millions of Americans by directly helping individuals and families live healthier lives, and helping YMCAs lead their communities and the nation to reduce barriers and increase supports for healthy living. Expert advisors to the YMCA on this initiative include: Harvard University School of Public Health, Stanford University School of Medicine, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Steps to a Healthier U.S., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living by Design, the Chronic Disease Directors, and others. Visit ymca.net/activateamerica.

About the YMCA: Heritage YMCA Group serves Aurora, Naperville and Oswego communities. With approximately 21,000 members and thousands of community participants, the YMCA provides programs and services to build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The nation's 2,663 YMCAs serve nearly 20.2 million people each year, including 9.5 million children under the age of 18. YMCAs unite men, women and children of all ages, faiths, backgrounds, abilities and income levels. From urban areas to small towns, YMCAs are a place for people to belong, serving America's children, families and communities for more than 155 years.